Greens: Peace offering

The Green Party has put global peace at the heart of its bid for Westminster seats in the forthcoming general election.

The Greens’ main speaker, Keith Taylor, unveiled his "pen is mightier than the sword" message at an event outside Westminster on Friday.

The party hopes that Taylor, who is standing in the marginal Brighton Pavilion seat, can become the first Green elected to the House of Commons.

It intends to use Tony Blair’s record as a war leader to promote anti-aggression during the forthcoming election.

"The pen is mightier than the sword, and Tony Blair should be signing guarantees of Western non-aggression with the countries of the Middle East. Only by giving the Middle East that security can Blair expect to contribute towards stability in the region," said Taylor.

"Likewise, he should be busy signing contracts with Iran for the transfer of renewable energy technologies, if he wants to undermine Iran's nuclear energy programme."

Taylor called on the prime minister to agree an early exit from Iraq. "He needs to sign himself and George Bush up to a timetable for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq," he said.

"But judging by his past performances, he won't do any of these things, and that's why we need a strong Green voice in parliament, to challenge the big business as usual politics of the big three parties.

"The Green Party, unlike the Liberal Democrats, was unequivocal from the start in our opposition to the immoral, destructive and illegal war on Iraq."